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Campbell Brown
AP: Sedative Found in Jackson Home; Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Announces Resignation
Aired July 03, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tonight, here are the questions we want answered. Why is Sarah Palin quitting now?
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: It hurts to make this choice, but I'm doing what's best for Alaska.
COOPER: She announces she will resign as governor of Alaska. Is she making a run for the White House? The press conference you have to see for yourself.
Plus, what really killed Michael Jackson? We talk to a nurse who says he begged for a powerful sedative.
CHERILYN LEE, REGISTERED NURSE: He asked me -- he said: "Can you find me a doctor. I don't care how much money they want. I don't care what it is they want. I want this drug. I want this medication." He didn't say drugs. He said, "I want this medication to sleep."
COOPER: Today, we learned that same drug, Diprivan, was found in Jackson's home. So, is it the smoking gun?
Plus, Colin Powell's warning for President Obama.
COLIN POWELL, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs, and the additional government that will be needed to execute them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is your only source for news. CNN prime time begins now. In for Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper.
COOPER: Hey. Good evening, everyone. We're live in Los Angeles.
Those are our big questions tonight. But we start with a look at the stories making impact right now and the moments you might have missed. Here's the "Mash-Up."
Sarah Palin drops a political bombshell on a sleepy summer Friday, resigning as governor of Alaska, leaving office in the middle of her first term. Palin says she doesn't want to run for reelection and doesn't want to stay on as a lame duck. Highlights from her remarkable announcement coming up in just a bit.
But here's the 1:16 CliffsNotes version.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: I thought about, well, how much fun some governors have as lame ducks. And then I thought, that's what's wrong.
Many just accept that lame duck status and they hit the road, they draw a paycheck, and they kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that.
That's not how I'm wired. I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.
Trust me with this decision and know that it is no more politics as usual.
I have given my reasons. There's no more politics as usual. And I'm taking my fight for what's right for Alaska in a new direction.
My choice is to take a stand and effect change, and not just hit our head against the wall. We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale. And you can effect change, and I can, too, on the outside.
You are naive if you don't see a full-court press from the national level picking away right now. A good point guard, here's what she does. She drives through a full-court press protecting the ball. She knows exactly when the pass the ball, so that the team can win. And I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Palin's play and some of her words stumped the political words. Her motives kind of unclear. Everyone has an opinion. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: She's clearly freeing her schedule to prepare for 2012.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder how much of this has to do with her drop in the approval ratings in Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It almost sounds like there's something else -- I mean, there's something else going on, that there's either some sort of either scandal or some sort of issue that we're not aware of or some family issue.
CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: Whether money was a motivator in this or not, the fact is, she can now cash in on her celebrity, cash in on that fame, and make a lot of money very quickly.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's stunning. And, you know, as a reporter, you're going, what's going on here?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Really. Really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: More, much more on this tonight, including what's next for Sarah Palin.
Elsewhere in the "Mash-Up," as America settles in for a long weekend, American troops are clashing with militants in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. Marines are pushing deeper into Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan. They launched a major offensive against the insurgency Thursday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Choppers just now dropping supplies to Marines in Afghanistan. Nearly 4,000 Marines, as we have been telling you, are now raiding rural villages.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The Taliban's being blamed in the death of a British regiment commander now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The highest-ranking British commander to be killed in action since 1982 in the Falklands War. We're hearing that Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was killed when his vehicle was struck by an IED.
PHILLIPS: Prince Charles, a personal friend of his, says he's heartbroken.
PRINCE CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: I was completely mortified by it, I must say, because, having been a colonel of Welsh Guards for the last 34 years, I start to see the sons and the grandsons of people I first met 34 years ago coming into the regiment. So, you can imagine the shock and horror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Prince Charles is a regimental colonel of the Welsh Guards, where Thorneloe served.
On to Iraq now, where Vice President Joe Biden is spending Fourth of July weekend with the troops. He had breakfast this morning with his so Beau, who deployed to the war zone in January. The vice president talked about that in an interview with ABC News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was involved with Iraq long before my son got here, but since he's gotten here, it makes it -- me realize the kind of sacrifices that military families are making. Beau was talking to me last night. He was pointing out the multiple deployments have caused significant divorce rates. There's custody issues. Now, there all kinds of...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are real human problems.
BIDEN: Yes. They are real human that these deployed forces have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The vice president also met with the American commander General Ray Odierno. He says he's optimistic the situation in Iraq will improve.
Sign today of a thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations -- Cuban Americans who want to visit their relatives can now fly direct Los Angeles to Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just exciting to be able to come with my daughter and share this experience. I have been wanting to come my whole life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Washington eliminated restrictions on Cuban Americans visiting their relatives and also broadened the definition of family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's my uncle. My mother -- I haven't seen him ever. I have never met him.
Next up, U.S. lawmakers are piling pressure on Congress to lift travel restrictions on all Americans. Two million tourists visit Cuba every year and, even by conservative estimates, that figure could double if Americans were free to travel here. The more the merrier, as far as these artisans are concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It was the first direct commercial flight from America to Cuba in five years.
In Jackson land night, details announced for a blockbuster memorial send-off and new information about drugs found in the home of the king of pop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: This isn't the first time that Diprivan has been connected with Michael Jackson. Tell us what you know.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right. And, again, we want to emphasize this is a single source telling the Associated Press that the drug was found inside Michael Jackson's home. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is not something that I have heard of being used in this sort of setting. I have heard of it used in either hospital or medical settings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police carried away bags of drugs from the home where the 50-year-old died. And sources now say they found nothing short of a drugstore inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a few months ago, tickets to his 50 concerts in London sold out in a matter of hours. Tonight, the scramble is on for thousands of free tickets for his memorial service in Los Angeles next week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The organizers of that memorial here at the Staples Center are worried about people scalping their tickets. So, this is what they're going to do. If you're lucky enough to actually get a ticket, you're also going to get a wristband at the same time to try to cut down on scalping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, if you can't get your hands on one of those tickets, take my advice. Stay home. Watch it right here on CNN, best seat in the house.
As the world knows by now, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is enjoying a lovely weekend away with the wife and kids. With any luck, he will come home and keep quiet, folks still reeling from Sanford's confessional interview earlier this week, you know, the one where he called his mistress his soul mate.
Jon Stewart couldn't believe it. He's our punchline tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART")
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": He gave another interview?
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: God killed Michael Jackson to save your ass.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: And you gave another interview? And not only that. Not only did he do that. He added revelations about other women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jon Stewart, everybody. And that's the "Mash-Up."
So, Sarah Palin quits. She resigns as governor of Alaska in a surprise announcement today, effective in a few weeks. You have to see it for yourself, that announcement. She cited everything from basketball to magnets on the fridge. We will play it for you and talk to the best political team on television about today's political bombshell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: She drives through a full-court press protecting the ball, keeping her head up because she needs to keep her eye on the basket. And she knows exactly when to pass the ball, so that the team can win. And that is what I'm doing.
So I think of the saying on my parent's refrigerator, a little magnet that says, don't explain. Your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, there's no question who's tonight's newsmaker.
Of course, it's Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Her stunning announcement today, at the beginning of the Fourth of July weekend, was, for better or worse, pure Palin.
Now, many of you probably didn't hear it live this afternoon, so we want to give you a chance to listen to the whole thing for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: Some say things changed for me on August 29th, last year, the day that John McCain tapped me to be his running mate. And it was an honor to stand beside a true American hero.
I say others changed. And let me speak to that for a minute.
Political operatives descended on Alaska last August digging for dirt. The ethics law that I championed became their weapon of choice.
Over the past nine months, I have been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations such as holding a fish in a photograph, or wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters questions. Every one of these, though, all 15 of the ethics complaints, have been dismissed.
We have won, but it hasn't been cheap. The state has wasted thousands of hours of your time and shelled out some $2 million of your dollars to respond to opposition research. And that is money that's not going to fund teachers or troopers or safer roads.
And this political absurdity, the politics of personal destruction, Todd and I, we're looking at $500,000 in legal bills just in order to set the record straight.
And I know that I promised no more politics as usual, but this isn't what anyone had in mind for Alaska.
If I have learned one thing, it's that life is about choices, and one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down or that build up, and I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and for productivity.
I choose not to tear down and waste precious time, but to build up this state and our great country, and her industrious and generous and patriotic and free people. Life is too short to compromise time and resources.
And though it may be tempting and more comfortable to just kind of keep your head down and plot along, and appease those who are demanding, hey, just sit down and shut up, but that's a worthless, easy path out. That's the quitter's way out.
So I choose for my state and for my family, more freedom to progress all the way around. So that Alaska may progress, I will not seek reelection as governor. And so, as I thought about this announcement, that I wouldn't run for reelection, and what that means for Alaska, I thought about, well, how much fun some governors have as lame ducks. They maybe travel around their state, travel the other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions. So many politicians do that. And then I thought, that's what's wrong.
Many just accept that lame duck status and they hit the road, they draw a paycheck, and they kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that.
I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That's not how I'm wired. I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.
I promised that four years ago and I meant it. That's not what is best for Alaska at this time.
My choice is to take a stand and effect change, and not just hit our head against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars go down the drain in this new political environment.
Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities.
And so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans.
Let me go back quickly to a comfortable analogy for me, and that's sports, basketball. And I use it because you are naive if you don't see a full-court press from the national level picking away right now.
A good point guard, here is what she does. She drives through a full-court press protecting the ball, keeping her head up because she needs to keep her eye on the basket. And she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win. And that is what I'm doing, keeping our eye on the ball.
That represents sound priorities, remember, they include energy independence and smaller government and national security and freedom. And I know when it is time to pass the ball for victory.
And I really don't want to disappoint anyone with this announcement, not with the decision that I have made. All I can ask is that you trust me with this decision and know that it is no more politics as usual.
And some Alaskans it seems today, maybe they don't mind wasting public dollars and state time, but I do. And I cannot stand here as your governor and allow the millions of dollars and all that time go to waste just so that I can hold the title of governor.
And I don't know if my children are going to allow it any way.
Some are going to question the timing of this. And let me just say that this decision has been in the works for awhile. In fact, this decision comes after much consideration, prayer and consideration.
And finally, I polled the most important people in my life, my kids, where the count was unanimous. Well, in response to asking, hey, you want me to make a positive difference and fight for all our children's future from outside the governor's office, it was four yeses and one hell yeah. And the hell yeah sealed it. And someday I will talk about the details of that.
I think, though, much of it for the kids had to do with recently seeing their baby brother Trig mocked and ridiculed by some pretty mean- spirited adults recently. And by the way, I sure wish folks could ever understand that we can learn, all of us, from someone like Trig. I know he needs me, but I know that I need him even more. And what a child can offer to set priorities right, know that time is precious. The world needs more Trigs, not fewer.
I love my job. And I love Alaska. And it hurts to make this choice. But I am doing what's best for Alaska, and I have explained why.
So I think of the saying on my parent's refrigerator, a little magnet that says, don't explain. Your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Stunning announcement, not just grammatically, but politically. So, why is she doing this? Our political team breaks it down in a moment and reads between the lines.
Plus, the Michael Jackson investigation -- police find a potentially deadly anesthetic at his home. We tracked down one doctor who, according to sources, routinely knocked out Michael Jackson with powerful drugs in the past to help him sleep.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: We have a couple different sources that said they would see I.V. equipment, what sounded like probably pumps. They described it as a -- as sort of an audio rack sort of looking thing in a hotel room with Michael. And -- and they -- they made it sound like that was your stuff. Are they wrong? Or was it -- was it...
DR. NEIL RATNER, TREATED MICHAEL JACKSON: I really don't want to talk about this topic at all now. I really have nothing to say about it right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight, a lot of the people trying to figure out what to make of Sarah Palin's latest bombshell. Why is she stepping down? That's our big question tonight. And why now, well before the end of her first term.
CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins me now, along with Reihan Salam, a columnist for "The Daily Beast," and Steve Kornacki, a columnist for "The New York Observer."
So, Candy, what do you make of this?
CROWLEY: I wish I knew what I made of it.
This is a dealer's choice at this point. Why did she do it? We have one source, a source who's close to the family, not in politics, who said, I think she's had it with politics. A lot of people, though, have had it with politics, and they don't quit in the middle of their term.
We have another source saying she -- it's a risky move, but she thinks, politically, that this will leave the path open for 2012, because she can now go down to the lower 48, as they say, and can meet people, can raise money for them, can campaign for them.
I don't think -- the one thing I know for sure is, I don't think we know exactly why she's done this.
COOPER: Well, Reihan, it's one thing to run for president as a sitting governor or even as somebody who has been a one-term governor. But to run as somebody who was a mayor and then quit as governor halfway through their term seems odd, to say the least.
REIHAN SALAM, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: It's not very plausible.
I mean, the thing is that I have Palin schizophrenia, like a lot of Americans. I love her. Then I'm appalled by her behavior. And now I have got to say, after hearing that press conference, I adore this woman. This is an actual human being.
And she -- everything she said, actually, maybe I'm crazy, but it all makes sense. You're spending huge amounts of money to fend off these attacks. She's become a distraction. Maybe she made some bad calls, and that's something that she can acknowledge.
But she's distracting the state from the business of the state. And maybe she thought, maybe I need to eject. And, sometimes, that's the right thing to do in all aspects of life. So, I'm actually really, really impressed.
COOPER: So, wait? You actually -- so, you believe what she's saying, that she's doing this because she loves the state so much and wants to effect change, that she has to leave the job to do that?
SALAM: Strangely enough, I mean, imagine if she, with her intense political appeal, decided to become, say, some kind of pro- life activist. She talked about Trig at the end. If she decided that that's the way she was going to really effect change, she has to be smart and shrewd enough to know that the presidency is not in the cards, certainly not in 2012, you know, maybe somewhere further down the line, maybe.
But she's become this really different culturally electrifying figure. And maybe the best way for her to leverage that is kind of take a little bit of time off, recognize that she's made a hash of being governor, certainly since she ran for vice president, and this is the way to reboot her career.
And, also, she was talking about the kids. She's driving everyone crazy and she's driving herself crazy. And, sometimes, you just need to say, stop. And that is what she's doing.
COOPER: But, Steve, she talked about Trig as if people are making fun of her little child. I have never heard of anyone make fun of her child.
What do you make of...
(CROSSTALK)
STEVE KORNACKI, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK OBSERVER": Well, yes.
I didn't her David Letterman make fun of her 14-year-old daughter a few weeks ago, but that's what she heard. And I think that's sort of the story we have got with Sarah Palin and with her supporters. They're going to hear what they want to hear. They're going to see what they want to see. And they're going to respond accordingly.
I just have to say, I saw a woman here -- now, the speculation from a lot of the people is the other shoe is going to drop in a few days. There's going to be some scandal that was revealed that forced her out midterm.
But I'm going to go out on a limb and say, that's not it at all. This is a woman who wants to run in 2012. And she's hindered. You cannot govern a state that's really thousands of miles from the U.S. mainland and start taking time off to come to the lower 48 to start campaigning. She's getting nothing out of the job.
Moreover, she is running a certain risk here. With all these ethics investigations, with all the speculation about 2012, her popularity in Alaska was dropping. She no longer is the most popular governor in this country. She's probably not even in the top 20 at this point.
So, she's going to run into a point very quickly where it's going to look like either she runs for reelection and loses, in which case 2012 is off the map completely, or her popularity reaches such a low level that she looks like she's forced out of the office, in terms of not running again.
So, she's trying -- I saw a woman who is trying to get ahead of the story. She's playing up this persecution complex that the Republican base responds very well to. Ooh, the evil media, the Democratic strategists, the Democratic operatives, they're all out to get me. They forced me out.
And, at the end of the day, I think this is a Rorschach test. People are going to see on both sides what they want to see. The people who don't like Palin are going to say, well, she quit. She couldn't handle the heat, all of that. And the people that like her are going to make excuses about, well, the media forced her out. We still love her. And now it's great because she's free and she can come to the lower 48 and she can tell us her story.
COOPER: Candy, do we know anything of the backstory of sort of the planning into the press conference?
It looks like she was speaking without a written speech. It would seem to be to her detriment, because I have actually read the transcript. And she sort of doubles back on things and repeats things, and, just grammatically, it is, at times, almost nonsensical.
CROWLEY: I thought it was up a notch from usual.
But I did see her post-election at an event in Indiana. And it was pretty much the same thing. She clearly had notes, but she did not have a speech in front of her. And I think, if you recall, in the election, at one point, suddenly, the teleprompters arrived because she had gone off-message so many times.
So, I think you saw sort of the raw Sarah Palin there and what she likes to do. And I think did contribute to that. And it also contributed to the notion, like, what is this about? It just gave it this sort of feel that she was getting out for some reason that you didn't quite understand, because she gave so many reasons.
And I have to say that a lot of the people I talked to today said the whole idea that things are so hot, she can't get anything done, they think is sort of ridiculous. They said, that's what governance is about, is that you govern when the heat's on.
So -- and this is within the Republican Party. I think it's being taken -- I think the Rorschach test is probably right on. I think there are a lot of people who think this was a crazy thing to do, if this is a woman looking for a political career.
COOPER: We're going to have more with our panelists ahead. Thank you, all.
Colin Powell warning President Obama about spending the country into debt for generations to come. We have that interview ahead.
Plus, Michael Jackson, did he regularly take a powerful anesthetic? It apparently was found in his home, but it is an I.V. drug. So, what doctor in his right mind would have given it to him? We're looking to answers tonight.
Listen back to what he allegedly told one nurse three months ago, before his death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: He asked me if I can find someone for him.
He said: "I will pay them anything, if you can find me an anesthesiologist or another doctor."
I'm a nurse practitioner. I'm a physician assistant also. But he asked me -- he said: "Can you find me a doctor. I don't care how much money they want. I don't care what it is they want. I want this drug. I want this medication." He didn't say drugs. He said, "I want this medication to sleep."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: This was a video of Michael Jackson two days before he died. Today -- tonight, "The Associated Press" reporting that investigators found a powerful sedative called Diprivan inside Jackson's home. That's the same drug we first heard about from a nurse who says she -- who said that she used to work for Jackson and that Jackson had asked her to get him this medication to help him sleep.
Here's what Cherilyn Lee, the nurse, told us on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERILYN LEE, NURSE WHO TREATED JACKSON: He asked me, he said, can you find me a doctor. I don't care how much money they want. I don't care what it is they want. I want this drug.
I want this medication. He didn't say drugs. He said, I want this medication to sleep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, we've also learned from our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, that Jackson may have been using powerful medications to battle insomnia for years. Here's some of his report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sources close to Michael Jackson tell us that during the HIStory tour back in '96 and '97, Jackson was actually traveling with what looked like a mini clinic, including an IV pole, drips, what looked like a rack with lights and monitors and such.
Sources who had the opportunity to see Jackson at various points during the tour say Jackson was traveling with at least two doctors, one of whom was anesthesiologist Dr. Neil Ratner.
Now one source says he asked Ratner about all this elaborate equipment and Ratner said he was there because Michael simply couldn't sleep. Now Ratner went on to say, according to the source, "I take him down at night," referring to Jackson, "and I bring him back up in the morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Dr. Ratner confirms to CNN that Jackson suffered from a sleep disorder, but refused to talk about anything else to Dr. Gupta.
Sanjay joins me now from South Carolina. Also joining me, former CNN anchor Jim Moret, now chief correspondent for "Inside Edition." And Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a surgeon who's familiar wit the use of Diprivan.
Sanjay, so, according to "The AP," "The Associated Press," Diprivan was found inside the Jackson's home. Is there any legitimate medical reason why Diprivan would be in somebody's private home?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. The answer is no. I've never heard of this. The first time I heard about this with regard to Michael Jackson, I was sort of just surprised that we're even talking about it. But it is a medication that's an IV medication. It is used in hospitals for procedures, for example, operations. It can be used as an induction element for general anesthesia, but I've never heard about it inside someone's home.
And let me add to that, Anderson, if it was to be used, it typically the medication has to be given continuously. So you need some sort of pump. Sometimes the medication lidocaine is also used to ease the pain when the propofol is being inserted into the body. And so there's all sorts of equipment including monitoring equipment that goes with it. So I just never heard of that, Anderson.
COOPER: And the fact that Jackson was traveling with an anesthesiologist on his HIStory tour raises all sorts of questions. Diprivan really wasn't a big drug, I guess, back in the '90s when the HIStory tour was going on. But when you heard, Sanjay, that an anesthesiologist was accompanying him for concert dates, does that make any sense to you? I mean, have you ever heard of such a thing?
GUPTA: No. I mean, you know -- I know that there are sometimes doctors who accompany big groups like that in case of some sort of medical problem. But having an anesthesiologist, not only having the anesthesiologist, but as we heard from a source, an anesthesiologist who was carrying all this equipment as well, IV poles, monitoring equipment pumps, all that sort of stuff in hotel rooms sounded very strange, you know, very sort of out there for me. I've never heard of that sort of thing.
And from what I understand according to the source, there was an anesthesiologist and another doctor. And again, as you know, Anderson, the source said that this anesthesiologist said he couldn't sleep. Michael Jackson couldn't sleep so he's putting him down at night and bringing him back up. Very strange, indeed.
COOPER: Dr. Rodriguez, does this -- if Diprivan was in fact present, as "The AP" is reporting, does that raise a lot of questions for you?
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNIST & GASTROENTEROLOGIST: Oh, it's like Sanjay said that's completely abnormal. If you'd asked me two weeks ago how many households in the U.S. had Diprivan in their home, zero. So it's absolutely something that raises a lot of red flags.
COOPER: The registered nurse who claims three months ago that Jackson begged her for Diprivan and wanted her to get it no matter what the cost, says that he was trying to use it for sleep. What effect does it have? Is it the same -- I mean, is it a sleep aid?
RODRIGUEZ: No, it's absolutely not a sleep aid. It's an anesthetic medication. It's something that puts people into a deep state of unconsciousness. And they don't even go into complete REM sleep so you may not get the same relaxation that you get from sleep. So it's almost as if you're a zombie after you come of it.
COOPER: So the health effects of it long term if you're using it regularly would not be good because you're not allowing your body to actually get sleep.
RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely, absolutely. It gives you a false sense that you really have rested when you have it.
COOPER: If, in fact, we have heard from Dr. Deepak Chopra that in previous years Jackson had asked him for OxyContin and Demerol. If, in fact, it turns out that Jackson was using other drugs, and we won't know this till the toxicology report is released, what effect, if any, would that have with a drug like Diprivan?
RODRIGUEZ: Very deadly. It could potentially be very deadly. They're all additives. They're synergistic. So the Vicodin, for example, the OxyContin, or Demerol, starts lowering your respiratory rate, your heart rate. You throw Diprivan on top of that, and it could be deadly.
The main thing about Diprivan it's a good drug when used correctly, when monitored very closely. And it's a very cutting drug. You go from being sedated to being in respiratory arrest in a matter of minutes.
COOPER: And I know you've been looking into whether would Diprivan show up in an autopsy?
RODRIGUEZ: Correct.
COOPER: As soon as you stop it, if the person comes out, does it stay in the body?
RODRIGUEZ: That's the question that came into my mind and to yours. And I've called a few anesthesiologists, an anesthesiologist pharmacologist and they're not sure. It's metabolized through the liver so there may be some metabolic chemicals that are derivatives of Diprivan. So I don't really have the answer to that.
COOPER: Jim Moret, I mean, all this does sound consistent with what nurse Cherilyn Lee came forward earlier this week and told.
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": I think you're right. All of these things sound consistent. If Diprivan was found in the home, if he was traveling with a mini clinic, if he asked this nurse for this very same substance, either way this raises the stakes of this investigation significantly, Anderson.
And as you stated, detox reports aren't in yet. But it almost doesn't matter what they say because if Diprivan was found in the home, the attorney general's office is now involved, according to "Los Angeles Times," just as they were with the Anna Nicole case. And I think that you're going to see the net spreading wider and wider to look at what drugs were prescribed over quite a long period of time.
COOPER: And, Jim, it's not just drugs to Jackson because, I mean, I guess they will look at what any doctor who is involved with Jackson, what drugs maybe he had prescribed to himself or even other people who could have been in the Jackson camp.
MORET: Right. What we saw in Anna Nicole's case specifically that's being alleged is that there were aliases used. We've heard allegations of aliases being used here as well.
And we talked to members of Jackson's camp and members of his family who say, and as Jackson himself said, that he was addicted to opiates some years ago. So he obviously had a problem with drugs. And if doctors are knowingly prescribing an addict even more medication, you've got the potential for some criminal liability here.
COOPER: And certainly we remember in those immediate hours after Jackson's death was announced, Brian Oxman, the family spokesman, very dramatically on the phone saying that what happened to Michael Jackson makes what happened to Anna Nicole Smith. It looked like nothing. We haven't heard from Brian Oxman since then. I'm not even sure if he's still the Jackson family spokesman but obviously, there's a lot of questions still to be answered.
Appreciate all our guests. Dr. Rodriguez as well. Thank you very much for coming in, Jim Moret and Sanjay.
Coming up, North Korea has threatened to fire a missile at Hawaii on the fourth of July. Can they do it? We're going to investigate.
And Colin Powell's new warning to President Obama about the cost of his agenda. Is the price too high?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I never would have believed that we would have budgets that are running into the, you know, multi-trillions of dollars and we are amassing a huge, huge national debt that if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great grandchildren will have to pay for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: A lot more ahead, but let's get a look at some of the must-see stories of the day. Erica Hill is in New York with tonight's "Download" - Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, there is word just in from South Korea's news agency that North Korea has test-fired two more short-range scud missiles.
Now earlier today, South Korean protesters burned models of missiles and pictures of North Korean leaders. The North fired four short-range missiles yesterday, you may recall. And there is speculation that a long-range test possibly aimed toward Hawaii is planned to coincide with the July 4th holiday. Some experts, though, have expressed doubt that North Korea actually has the technology to do that.
We'll continue to follow it for you throughout the weekend here on CNN.
A tense situation, meantime, in Honduras threatening to worsen tonight. This cell phone video you see obtained by CNN shows soldiers apparently shooting out the tires on buses headed for a demonstration in support of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. He was, of course, removed in a military coup last weekend.
A small town in South Carolina on edge this weekend. Some people in Gaffney, it's about 50 miles of Charlotte, now canceling their Fourth of July plans because police say there is a serial killer on the loose. So far, four people have been shot to death in three incidents going back to last weekend. No suspects and no word on a motive.
And here's a little something that chances are until now, you never saw because you had to be an astronaut to see it. A volcanic eruption shown from space.
The pictures are wild. This is actually a shot of Matua (ph) Island. It's northeast of Japan taken from the International Space Station last month. Scientists are now studying how that shockwave cleared a circle in the cloud dust among other things.
And finally, it isn't just the Fourth of July weekend in Pittsburgh, it's furry fest where so-called furries, people who basically dress up in animal costumes get together for workshops, panel discussions and, of course, there will be vendors. Three to 4,000 furries apparently come to Pittsburgh every year.
COOPER: I think they're doing more than just having discussions, if you know what I mean.
HILL: I know exactly what you mean. And I think we should just leave it right there.
Oh, I read that "Vanity Fair" article years ago. It just scarred me, scarred me.
COOPER: You'll have to go delight everyone.
From Afghanistan to Iraq, health care to unemployment, what were those stories that got knocked off the front pages this week because of Michael Jackson? A look at the most undercovered news of the week. Here's Stephen Colbert's pick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": But with sadness comes a silver lining, which I think was best expressed in this condolence card from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In this time of sorrow, I want to thank you for diverting attention from me kidnapping nine British embassy employee workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: With so much breaking news this week, a lot of really interesting stories ended up under the radar. So I want to bring back our panel to ask, what is the most underreported story of the week?
Back with me now is Reihan Salam, Steve Kornacki, and joining us, NPR contributor John Ridley.
So, John, what did we miss this week?
JOHN RIDLEY, NPR CONTRIBUTOR: Well, for me, one of the big story is L.A., California. We're broke. We're busted.
We are actually issuing almost $6 billion of IOUs. We got 11.5 percent unemployment, above the national average. Why it's big news? It's not just the state of California, the eighth biggest economy in the world, then there could be some fallout from all of this.
COOPER: Has the state started to see fallout from it yet?
RIDLEY: Well, in terms of the fact that we can't pay anybody, it's a big deal. But not just being able to pay people. What do you do with those IOUs?
Banks have said they'll accept those IOUs for about the next month. And then what's going to happen? How are people going to get paid? How are they going to pay for things? So it's an economy that's basically in free fall from this point forward.
COOPER: This is the only second time this has happened and -- RIDLEY: Second time since the Great Depression in about 20 years that they've had the issue of IOUs.
COOPER: It's unbelievable.
Steve, what do you think was the most underreported story of the week?
KORNACKI: Well, there sort of -- earlier in the week, you know, you had the U.S. completing its withdrawal from the cities of Iraq, which is sort of the first phase of the withdrawal. It's going to have all the troops out. You know, by 2012, and that in and of itself is momentous.
But I think, you know, within that story, there's something that came out, you know, in the last day I think is even bigger and that is, you know, transcripts of FBI interviews with Saddam Hussein after he was captured, you know, in 2003 and 2004, in which he basically said things that were obvious to some people in the United States, but not to the people who made decisions in 2002, 2003.
You know, and that is the reason he didn't come clean on weapons of mass destruction. The reason he didn't allow inspectors in was he was afraid of Iran. And he laid out his entire rationale in these interviews. They were just released this week. And it's sort of an interesting symmetry to me as we begin the withdrawal, we sort of find out if we didn't already, you know, need to know more information, to really find out why we shouldn't have gone in in the first place.
COOPER: Reihan, what do you think, what stories are the big ones for you?
SALAM: The thing is that the coup in Honduras has gotten a little bit of attention, but I don't think Americans fully appreciate that. When you see a return of political instability in that region, it starts to ripple into our country.
The civil wars that rocked Central America in the 1980s, led to a huge influx of refugees from those countries. And when you think about how financial strapped a lot of states and local governments are, think about what that political instability is going to mean for us a couple of years down the road if it really does come back in a big way. So I think that Honduras isn't just a story about, you know, a little Latin American country. It's a story that's going to affect us all a lot more than we think.
COOPER: John, what's your favorite story of the week? Clearly, the IOUs in California is not your favorite story.
RIDLEY: Not my favorite story. Actually, the Women Air Service Pilots, these were World War II era female pilots, real groundbreakers flying military craft at home so men could go out and fight the war. There are about 300 out of 1,100 surviving members.
Just got authorization for the congressional medal of honor this year right before the Fourth of July weekend. I think it's a very, very good thing, obviously. Much better than IOUs.
COOPER: Steve, how about for you? Your favorite?
KORNACKI: Favorite story, Manny Ramirez coming back tonight for the L.A. Dodgers. Fifty games suspensions finally over.
Dodgers, you know, still have the best record in baseball, but it's close and I'm kind of jealous. I see you guys out there in L.A. You could just take the trip down in San Diego.
You know, it's 10:00 Eastern tonight. You could still make the first pitch. You can see Manny's comeback.
COOPER: My guess is, Larry King is there but I'm not sure.
Reihan, your favorite story?
SALAM: My favorite story, look, it's odd calling this a favorite but Michael Jackson got all the attention. But Ed McMahon also died.
And Ed McMahon is the world's greatest sidekick and is somebody who's aspired my whole life to be a great sidekick, I think that we ought to pay more attention to it. So I salute you, Ed McMahon.
COOPER: You've aspired your whole life to be a great sidekick?
SALAM: Well, because I'm kind of tiny and wiry and a little intense, so I'm better as a sidekick than as a front man.
COOPER: All right.
SALAM: Yes.
COOPER: All right. Aim high, Reihan. Just kidding.
Colin Powell issues a warning to President Obama about massive spending. We have the exclusive interview ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I think one of the cautions that has to be given to the president and I've talked to some of these people about this, is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all. And we can't pay for it all. So I think the president as he moves forward with his initiatives has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all of this is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Tonight, a CNN exclusive. Colin Powell has been one of the president's biggest Republican supporters. You'll remember, of course, he broke with the GOP to endorse Obama during the campaign and took a lot of heat for it.
Now, he's telling CNN's chief national correspondent, John King, that he's concerned about the size and cost of the president's agenda. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I want to ask you a question about some of his other priorities, but I want to ask them in the context of the speech you gave to the Republican National Convention in 1996.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I became a Republican because I believe like you, that the federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our lives. We can no longer -- we can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run them, and fewer results to show for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: First reaction, looking at that clip, is you could probably sell your aging secrets because you look great. But as the president of the United States in that regard, when it comes to financial institution bailouts, General Motors bailouts, spending by government, whether it's health care reform, whether it's a debate now about climate change, when it comes to spending and the reach and role of government...
POWELL: Yes.
KING: ... does President Obama meet the test Colin Powell laid out in '96?
POWELL: Well, first, let me say that's a pretty good statement I thought. And I believe in all those things. But I also believe that we should have a government that works.
I don't like slogans anymore like limited government. That's not the right answer. The right answer is give me a government that works. Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people.
People want their problems solved, and very often it's government that has to do that. So let's have good government, effective government, whether you call it limited or not.
Now I think one of the challenges that President Obama has now is that he's got so many things on the table and these are issues that the American people find important, health care and so many other issues. But I think one of the cautions that has to be given to the president and I've talked to some of these people about this, is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all. And we can't pay for it all.
And I never would have believed that we would have budgets that are running into the, you know, multi-trillions of dollars and we are amassing a huge, huge national debt that if we don't pay for in our lifetime, our kids and grandkids and great grandchildren will have to pay for it.
So I think the president as he moves forward with his initiatives, has to start really taking a very, very hard look at what the cost of all of this is and how much additional bureaucracy and will it be effective bureaucracy be needed to make all of this happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: More on the "STATE OF THE UNION" on Sunday with John King.
This Fourth of July weekend, many of the best minds of the country will be in New Orleans to share strategies for improving schools and living healthier lives, strengthening families and communities. You're also going to hear some great music. It's all part of the Essence Music Festival which has added a special tribute this weekend to Michael Jackson.
Special correspondent Soledad O'Brien is there. Soledad, tell us about the show you're taping as part of the Essence Music Festival.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what's interesting, the show that's going on right now, actually Salt N Pepa on. They just did dancing machine and before that, that's from the Jackson Five. Before that, we don't really have been hearing rumors about a tribute to Michael Jackson. We expected it because a similar thing happened with Luther Vandross back in 2005. But Salt N Pepa did it, and we really do expect they'll be tributes.
The show that we're doing, of course, is to be part of what really happens here at the Essence Music Festival. It's really about a concert and then about empowerment seminar.
So, first, the concerts -- tonight, John Legend, Beyonce, local New Orleans artist as well, Ne-Yo. And this is the 15th year of this concert. One year as you well know, Anderson, they took it to Houston right after Hurricane Katrina, but came back right the next year.
It's a big moneymaker for the city. $150,000, according to estimates by the lieutenant governor. A hundred thousand people came the first year. This year estimates are running around, one of the numbers they're throwing out, 270,000 people.
Concerts at night, during the day, empowerment seminars, focus on education and parenting and community and health. The list is very, very extensive -- Anderson.
Let me fill you in on the show that we're taping for CNN. It's called "Reclaiming the Dream 2." We did replay "The Dream 1" last year. It's part of the "Black in America" initiative and we have a list of guests -- Steve Harvey, (INAUDIBLE), Marc Morial, the former mayor here, Ben Chavis, the head of the NAACP, Sheryl Lee (ph), Holly Robinson Peete.
The list go on and on, talking about some of the entrenched problems in black America and the solutions. Who's really making a difference? Who's, you know, kind of moving the ball down the field?
We're really excited about taping that and then the taped piece will air in August on CNN and, of course, we're very excited for folks to watch our documentary, "Black in America 2," which will highlight the work of pioneers and the leaders of tomorrow. People are making an impact coming up. So I'll be reporting "Black in America 2," a look at innovative solutions. That's coming on July 22nd and 23rd right here on CNN. Be sure to watch it.
That's it from New Orleans. Larry King is up next.
